Author name: Peter Matthews

From symphonies to string quartets to slightly off kilter arrangements of Jimi Hendrix tunes, there is a lot of music for strings out there. On Wednesday night at Subculture, Zoë Keating continued in that tradition, but with one difference—she summoned the onslaught of sounds by herself. She uses a cello and a foot-controlled laptop and pedals to record layer upon layer of cello, creating intricate, haunting and compelling music. Zoë is known for both her use of technology – which she uses to sample her cello onstage – and for her DIY ethic, forgoing the usual hassle of record labels associated with success in music.